Cal Newport takes a closer look at recent AI news.
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Below are the questions covered in today’s episode (with their timestamps). For instructions on submitting your own questions, go to calnewport.com/podcast.
TOPICS:
(0:00) Stop the “doom trolling”
(6:53) Cal’s recent New York Times article
(9:00) Cal’s argument
(10:16) The 2nd option
(12:54) Conclusion
(15:58) Stop playing along with Doom Trolling game
(20:09) Use the term “doom trolling”
YOUTUBE TITLE
– Dear AI Companies: Stop the “Doom Trolling”
LINKS:
Sign up for Cal’s newsletter at www.calnewport.com/ideas
Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/opinion/ai-dangerous-openai-anthropic.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/24/opinion/yuval-harari-ai-chatgpt.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/opinion/anthropic-ai-claude-mythos.html
https://www.anthropic.com/institute/recursive-self-improvement
https://x.com/sapinker/status/2067231673268273547
https://x.com/edzitron/status/2067308832053936276
Thanks to Jesse Miller for production and mastering and Nate Mechler for research and newsletter.
